All Pre 1970 Vintage speakers suck! Prove me wrong

Radio Shack Optimus Ones were my first speakers as a teenager. They were hand me downs from my father and I loved them. Always wanted JBLs L100 s and have them now in a second vintage system. My main system has Tannoy Churchill’s, a long way from the Radio Shacks. I wouldn’t say vintage speakers were bad at all, they were the pioneers to where we are today! I love vintage equipment, especially now when I can afford the things I could only dream about when I was very young and very poor…..

I think we need to define the "term" vintage in a generic sense. Perhaps: "Products that represent good examples of those offered during a prior period of a rapidly expanding culurtal adoption of a product or category?"

Another aspect we need to acknowledge is that speakers were (and still are) referred to as "speaker systems." Raw drivers, dividing networks, cables, cablnets, terminations, etc. make up the system. Technology has evolved in all the above. We can "pop the hood" (or, raise the bonnet for UK members) and observe that we’ve made major strides in the decades following the developmnet of those "vintage" speakers. We may find that the technology/performace of the raw driver(s) in the system may be an "8" out of 10 on current caliper of performance for their driver type. We may find that the "other stuff" inside the box is a "3" out of ten on today’s scale, with the total "speaker system" performing at a "6.2" on the 10 scale. Applying "never thinking" inside the box may get us to a solid "8" without changing the raw drivers or effecting the esthetics of the speaker. The ability to "revert back to stock" is a viable consideration. So, don’t whack away at things indiscretely, and keep those OEM parts around. Who can predict the future value of a highly collectable example of original vintage audio gear?

We’ve performed a good number of "vintage" audio upgrades. I’ve been asked to "improve the performance" of speakers that, to put it mildly, were not in my Top 10 of desirable speakers. After "doing what we do", I’ve found myself setting between a pair of speakers that I wouldn’t have taken as as gift in their stock form, and actually enjoying the music, reaching for "one more demo cut" to listen to during an extended evaluation session.

Conclusion: The overall design and raw drivers of vintage speakers can be quite good, if you’re willing to just open them up and let them play.

If my GNP Valkeryies were made in ‘80, it can be assumed that they were designed in the ‘70’s- the drivers were all made in the ‘70’s.

These sound fantastic a three different stacked enclosures , middle enclosure was lead lined to reduce vibration, wundercaps in the crossovers, this design has since been copied by Wilson ( “ Watt Puppy”).

Not one response from the OP. Please stop feeding this, this ... person.

He is totally ducken refickulous.

In general I would agree. Then in the early - through late 70s some of the best American designs from JBL, Altec Lansing, Infinity and others began emerging! Here’s an interesting video on the topic: Bringing Your Vintage Audio System into the 21st Century